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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State’s Offensive Struggles Surface Again in Loss to Tennessee

A slow offensive day and late Tennessee surge handed Mississippi State a 7-2 loss and extended its SEC home losing streak.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Infielder Ace Reese (#3) during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Infielder Ace Reese (#3) during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State keeps saying the margins in this league are thin. Sunday was the kind of afternoon that shows just how thin.

A 7-2 loss to Tennessee is somewhat shocking. Mostly because it’s the sixth-straight SEC home game Mississippi State has dropped, and at this point it’s hard to pretend the gap between the top of the league and the middle (or even the bottom) is all that wide.

The SEC has 16 teams now, and the difference between feeling like a contender and feeling stuck in neutral can be as small as a couple of missed pitches or a lineup that never quite gets going.

Sunday fit that pattern a little too neatly.

Tennessee jumped ahead early, taking advantage of a hit-by-pitch, a double, and a couple of well-placed swings to grab a 2-0 lead before most folks had settled into their seats.

Mississippi State answered in the fourth when Aidan Teel came around to score, but the Bulldogs never really found a rhythm. Six hits, scattered across nine innings, isn’t going to scare many SEC staffs, and Tennessee’s group kept State guessing most of the day.

Charlie Foster gave Mississippi State a chance, but “a chance” is about all he could offer. Tennessee pushed the lead to 4-1 in the sixth, and even when MisssissippiState showed a little life in the seventh — Chone James doubling, Reed Stallman knocking him in — it felt like the Bulldogs were working uphill the entire way.

And then the ninth inning happened. Tennessee strung together four hits, plated three more runs, and turned a manageable deficit into a comfortable win.

It was the kind of late punch that good SEC teams deliver, and the kind of late punch Mississippi State hasn’t been landing lately.

That’s the bigger picture here. This isn’t a roster falling apart. It’s not a coaching staff out of ideas. It’s a team living in a league where the difference between 10-5 and 7-8 is razor-thin, and Mississippi State keeps ending up on the wrong side of that line.

Tennessee came in with the same SEC record. They looked like equals. And on Sunday, equals were enough to hand Mississippi State another home loss.

Gehrig Frei had two hits. James and Stallman drove in runs.

But the Bulldogs never stacked anything together, and in this league, you don’t get by on moments — you need innings.

Now Mississippi State heads out on a four-game road swing, starting Tuesday at Samford. Maybe getting away from home will help.

Or maybe this is just what life looks like in a 16-team SEC where everyone has talent, everyone has arms, and everyone can beat you in your own ballpark.

If nothing else, Sunday made one thing clear: the gap isn’t big. And right now, Mississippi State is learning how small it really is.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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